App Friday: Facebook, Spotify and Yelp

Every Friday we’re going to write up some mobile apps and games that make us feel tingly inside. We’ll cover any type of app or game but it has to be special and it has to be an app that we would download straight away. If you know about an app that you think we should check out then please email edit[at]recombu.com. Today we’re focussing on iPhone apps as there are some cool updates worth knowing about.

Facebook has finally launched a new version of its iPhone app that offers better access to Facebook features such as events and pages. You can zoom in on pictures, visit links using a built-in browser and make friend requests, among other things. If you own an iPhone 3GS you can now upload video straight to Facebook. We’ve been testing it out and the new interface is lot better than the old one and a lot more useful. We have noticed a few bugs but hopefully they’ll be sorted out soon.

Yelp is a location-based service which allows you to find restaurants and bars, among other venues, using your iPhone’s GPS. Recently Robert Scoble discovered that the latest Yelp update includes a hidden feature. By shaking your iPhone 3GS three times an augmented reality option pops up, called monocle, which allows you to see venues through the iPhone’s camera — think Terminator vision. We couldn’t download the latest version of Yelp just yet but assume it’s coming to the UK soon.

Last but not least is news from PaidContent.co.uk that Spotify has been approved in the Apple app store. Spotify previewed what the app looks like on YouTube a few months ago and it blew our mobile-loving minds. It’s not clear how much functionality will be let through to the official app but if it’s anything like the preview then we see big things happening for Spotify, who has already won our hearts via its desktop client. We patiently wait to see the app appear in the app store.